Evaluate: Collings Debuts New Sequence with the Placing OM1A Hill Nation GuitarContact
“It’s only a guitar—merely in its purest type, open and woody,” mentioned Steve Nall, director of producing for Collings Guitars, throughout a latest telephone dialog concerning the new mannequin he had despatched me to overview. Formally debuting this fall, the guitar is a part of the Hill Nation collection—the primary new line of Collings steel-strings because the Conventional collection was launched in 2016.
Scrutinizing ace flatpicker Bob Minner’s 1936 Martin D-18 for inspiration, Nall and crew got down to design a Collings that behaves like one of the best Nineteen Thirties and ’40s steel-strings however retains Collings’ identification. “I needed to make one thing not as sparkly or quick or shiny as a typical Collings, nor a duplicate of a terrific prewar Martin, however reasonably a Collings guitar that does what these guitars do.”
The Hill Nation line will initially be accessible each in orchestra mannequin and dreadnought sizes, both with mahogany or rosewood sides, sporting appointments not seen on some other Collings guitars. I checked out an OM1A HC with an Adirondack spruce high and Honduran mahogany again and sides. If the overview mannequin is any indication, there’s a lot to be enthusiastic about with this sensible new collection.
Good-looking Minimalist Design
At first look the Hill Nation is hanging—in actual fact, an ideal looker. Whereas its OM lineage is clear, in contrast to extra ornate examples which have been created over time, minimalistic detailing highlights its geometric magnificence.
As a substitute of the conventional Collings script inlay on the entrance of the headstock, the emblem is embossed into the wooden on the again of the headstock with the stamp that the late Invoice Collings used on his guitars a few years in the past. In one other particularly good element, refined ebony binding blends seamlessly with the ebony fretboard, giving the neck an unbound look and a easy really feel.
The guitar’s satin nitrocellulose lacquer end is designed to be as skinny as humanly potential and to keep away from producing the attribute transient sounds that the end kind creates when clothes or pores and skin rubs in opposition to it. Particular particulars proceed with the hanging, hand-poured pickguard, rosette, heel cap, and finish wedge all coming from the identical batch of resin and coloring, particularly combined to enhance the coloring of every guitar. And in a subtler contact, the unbleached bone used for the nut and saddle contributes to the guitar’s old-school vibe.
The purfling and rosette comply with custom however are extra detailed, with further rings of cross-grained ivoroid surrounded by tortoise-style outer layers. Additionally distinctive to the collection, the OM1A HC’s mahogany stain has a wealthy chocolate- molasses coloring, as opposed the reddish hue discovered on different 1-style Collings guitars.
Whereas the creative imaginative and prescient of the instrument is restricted, the standard of artisanship is as one would count on from Collings—impeccable, to say the least. All the seams are completely fitted and never a hint of glue may be seen contained in the field. Each inch of this guitar speaks to lutherie at its most interesting.
An Spectacular Neck
Total, I discovered the neck on the OMA1 HC to be very playable with its 1-3/4-inch nut. The taper of the neck is exclusive. It’s fairly snug on the first fret with a C form and a 1.802-inch width and 0.815-inch depth; larger up, it morphs right into a slight V with a 2.125-inch width and a depth of 1.018 inches.The distinction was noticeable at first and took some adjusting to. It wasn’t uncomfortable or unmanageable, but it surely required my consideration, because it possesses a really completely different really feel from the necks of my guitars.
After I introduced this up with Nall, an fascinating dialog unfolded. First, he let me know that he constructed the neck how he likes them, realizes it won’t be for everybody, and Collings might be providing a extra customary neck on future builds. He additionally defined that the majority of the Hill Nation neck was completely different from that on different Collings guitars, because it’s not bolstered with 4 strips of spring metal and is subsequently looser. The imaginative and prescient behind the Hill Nation neck is that by having solely a truss rod within the neck, it vibrates with larger connectivity to the guitar, such that you just get again what you set into it—like a terrific prewar guitar.
Good Vibrations
Taking the OM1A HC from its case, I seen how mild it’s regardless of its beefy neck. Utilizing my 1.4mm ToneSlabs decide, I performed a cascade of runs and was instantly struck by the guitar’s huge dynamic vary. The tougher I performed, the louder and greater it received, and the lighter I performed, the quieter and sweeter it sang. Surprisingly, it supplied clear and clear tone on a few of my extra aggressive runs—one thing I not often, if ever, encounter on fashionable flattop guitars.
Flatpicking an improvisation in the important thing of E minor throughout the fretboard, I listened intently and felt every notice. Whereas the guitar is balanced general, the notes in each the decrease and higher positions appear particularly vibrant. Weaving my method into the standard tune “Elk River Blues,” I misplaced myself within the spaciousness of the concord and melody.
After I fingerpicked a development of open chords, the guitar possessed immense resonance; I might really feel all the guitar vibrating like a single residing organism. With plectrum again in hand, I performed by way of the B part of Eddie Lang’s “April Kisses” and was stunned and delighted by how nice the guitar sounded for early jazz.
I then performed a refrain of chord melody of Irving Berlin’s “Russian Lullaby” and located the fourth string typically overpowered the melody of the primary and second strings after I reached past the eighth fret. Subsequent, I attempted some hybrid choosing on a brand new composition of mine referred to as “Simple Day”—an excellent check piece, because it makes use of the open low E and A strings beneath a pentatonic melody on the ninth fret. I used to be amazed at how full the guitar sounded when taking part in flippantly. Lastly, I fingerpicked my method by way of the jazz customary “I Give up Expensive” utilizing a bass-note-and-melody method and located the other registers to be fairly nicely balanced.
The Backside Line
I now perceive what Nall meant by “only a guitar.” Like the nice artists of acoustic roots music, he and the Collings crew went to nice lengths to specific the straightforward essence of a type—to make a guitar that possesses the pure qualities of prewar guitars with out being a paint-by-numbers reproduction. They fastidiously thought of all of the essential components of what they needed to listen to and constructed a Collings to ship. The OM1A Hill Nation greater than meets this imaginative and prescient and is a good addition to the Collings line. I sit up for listening to these in palms of discerning gamers.
SPECS (as reviewed)
BODY Orchestra mannequin; Adirondack spruce high with Sitka spruce bracing; Honduran mahogany again and sides; tortoise-style binding with Hill Nation customized appointments; ebony belly-style bridge with 2-5/16″ string spacing and bone cut-throat saddle; ebony bridge pins; hand-poured pickguard; satin nitrocellulose lacquer end
NECK Honduran mahogany with mortise-and-tenon hybrid neck joint; absolutely adjustable truss rod; 25.5″ scale size; 1-3/4″ bone nut; ebony fretboard with ebony binding and gold mother-of-pearl dots; 20 medium nickel-silver frets; relic nickel Waverly tuners; satin nitrocellulose lacquer end
OTHER D’Addario EJ16 phosphor bronze mild strings (.012–.053); deluxe hardshell case
MADE IN USA
PRICE TBD